‘We have known each other long enough where we can have that relationship where we are honest with each other,’ Wilshere said when asked about Wenger.

‘It was boiling up for a while because everybody knew I had a year left on my deal and I had been out on loan, got injured, and wasn’t really in his plans.

‘He said, ‘I am going to be honest with you and at the moment we are not going to be offering you a contract, so if you can get a contract somewhere else, you can go’.

‘Obviously I was not happy with that, but at the same time I was happy he was being honest. ‘He gave me the opportunity with three or four weeks left in the transfer window, but I did not find anything that I wanted and at the same time I was not really fit, so I decided that I wanted to stay and build up my fitness.

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